Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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This invention lies in the field of gaseous and li~uid fuels burning
systems. More particularly, it conc~rns the design of a burning system which
can use either, or both, liquid fuel and ~aseous fuel.
More parti~ularly, it is concerned with a type of burner system in
which the production of NOx is minimized.
One of the undesirable products formed as fuel burns is typically
nitric oxide ~N02). Because of the number of oxides of nitrogen that may
form, they are commonly referred to as NOx. NOx, in the air, is a serious
pollutant, which is the subject for EPA regulation, as to maximum emission
to the atmosphere, in any case of venting of products of combustion to the
atmosphere, as from a typical chimney or s~ack.
NOx emission is measured in parts per million ~PPM) in stack gases,
and some fuels, as they burn, are capable of generation of several hundred
PPM. New EPA regulations, as proposed, will limit tolerable NOx emission to
not more than one hundred PPM. Means for reduction of emitted NOx are deman-
ded for fuel burning as fuel is typically burned.
~- In the prior art, the means for reduction of emit~ed NOx in ~he
products of combustion of a furnace or stack, involves generally the cumber-
some and expensive recirculation of flue gases from the stack or chimney,
back into the combustion zone. l'his involves motor-driven fans and ducts to
accomplish the recirculation of the high temperature combustion products to
the combustion zone of one or more burners.
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A more resent development is illustrated by the USA Patent No.
- 4,004,875, which utilizes the recirculation of products of combustion without,
` however, using the expensive construction of blowers and ducts, etc. However,
none of the prior art systems utilize the simple feature of the present inven-
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`, Generation of oxides of nitrogen, or NGx, which are air pollutants,
; is a characteristic of all fuels burning. It has been found impossible to
completely stop all NOx generation in fuels burning, but it is possible to
suppress it to a significant degree, in all cases, if the air for combustion
is thoroughly mixed with combustion product gases, such as C02 and H20,
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to combustion. Without the combustion p:roduct gases addition to the air sup-
ply, the NOx concentration can be of the order of hundreds of P~PM but, with
: added combustion gases~ the NOx evolved becomes le;ss than one hundred PPM.
The reduction of NOx is thought to be due to the presence of both,
or either, C02 or ~2 in the combustion ai.r enroute to the combustion area to
cause the typical reactions as follows:
CH4 ~ C02 = 2CO ~ 2H2
and
CH4 ~ H20 - C0 ~ 3H2
: 10 Through these reactions the combustible partial pressure within the
- reducing areas of the flame is quadrupled and any NOx in the combus~ion area ~:
- will be reduced considerably by this surplus of reducing agents. The NOx
can generally supply oxygen for the support of combustion of the C0 and H2 to ~ -
, reduce the total NOx presence. No better explanation has been advanced or
NOx reduction in this manner. However, the problem involved here is getting
the C02 and H20 into the combustion air prior to major fuel burning Cumber- .
.. some means for flue gas recirculation from stack to burner is one expedient,
`~ but is an expensive one.
-`;~ It is, therefore, a principal object of this invention to provide
.. 20 a simple, inexpensive and thermally efficient method of reducing NOx in the ~ ;~
products of combustion of a burner system.
;. It is a still further object of this invention to provide a burner
:which can use liquid or gaseous fuel separately, or together, and still
provide a means for minimizing the production of NOx. .
According to the present invention, there is provided in a bur~
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ner system for burning gaseous or liquid fuel, the improved construction - ` .
for minimization of the production of NOx, comprising; a primary burner ~:
.means comprising: a liquid burner tube and means to supply liquid fuel ~.
.~1 under pressure to said liquid burner tube; said liquid burner tube closed
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30 at its distal end; said closure including a plurality of ports arranged
symmetrically, each port in a radial plane, and at a selected angle A to
the axis of sa.id liquid burner tube; a gaseous burner tube comprising a
., pair of coaxial tube5, ~ith means to supply gas under pressure to the
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annular space between said t~o tubes; the ~mnular space closed at the distal
end; said closure including a plurality of por~s arranged symmetrically, each
l~ort in a radial plane, and at a selected angle B to the a~is of said gaseous
burner tube; means to su~ply comhustion air around the outer surface of said
gaseous burner tube; sccondary burner means surrolmding said gaseous burner
tube, and upstream a selected distance from said ports, and means to supply
a selected quantity of secondary gaseous fuel to said secondary burncr means;
whereby said secondary burner means utili~es part of said combustion air to
burn said secondary gaseous fuel; whereby the products of combustion of said
secondary fuel burning, move with said combustior. air downstream, into the
zone of combustion of said primary combustion means.
- The secondary burner can be in the form of a circular annular plate
baffle, behind which gas is provided to burn quietly in the lee of the plate
baffle. The gaseous combustion products of carbon dioxide and wa$er from
the secondary burner mix with the combustion air ~hich passes around the
outside of the burner system, and joins the conical sheets of fuel gas andtor
~uel oil particles, in the primary combustion zone, and by ~he process of
` reducing any NOx which forms, provides a reduced PPM of NOx in the combustion
gases which reach the stack.
A better understanding of the principles and details of the invention
will be evident ~rom the following description taken in conjunction with the
appended drawings, in which:
Figure 1 îllustrates, in cross-section3 a side elevation of one
- embodiment of this invention.
;.
Figure 2 is a sectional view taken along the line 2-2 of Figure 1.
Figure 3 ;llustra~es a front elevational view of the apparatus of
Figure 1.
- Figure 4 illustrates a detail of the secondary burner system taken
along the line 4-4 of Figure 3.
Referring now to the drawings and, in particular, to Figures 1 and ~`
2, there is shown one embodiment of this invention, indicated generally by
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the numeral 10.
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Tllere is a li~luid fuel burner 15 which comprises a burner tube 12
sup~lied with pressurize(l litlui(1 fuel, in accordance with arrow 20, into the
interior space of the liquid burner tube, which is closed at the distal end
and supplied with ~ plurality of circumferentially-spaced ports 16, each of
which is posit;oned in a radial plane, at an angle A to the axis of the burner
tube. Under pressure, jets of fuel 18 will issue out of the ports 16 and will
form a conical sheet of liquid droplets.
Surrounding, and slightly spaced from, the liquid burner tube 15
is the gaseous burner tube 22. This comprises an inner tube 24 of larger
diameter than the liquid burner tube 12 and an outer tube 2~, the annular
space be~ween which is closed at the distal end. The annular space 64 forms
~- a conduit for the flow of gaseous fuel indicated by the arrows 66, which
enters through a pipe 36, în accordance with arrow 38 from a source of
~ pressurized gaseous fuel. The closed end 30 has a plurality of circumferen-
-- tially spaced ports 32 through which jets of gas 34 will issue at high speed,
and will form, more or less, a continuous conical wall of gas. The angle B of
-~`. the jets 34 is preferably the same as the angle A of the jets 18.
- Burner system 10 is provided with a mounting system, not shown, but
- which can be conventional, to support it axially within an opening 17 inside
of a ~all 13 of refractory material, as is well known in the art. The
issuance of the ~uel from the ports at high velocity induces a flow of combus- `;
: tion air 70, 72 in the annulus between the burner system 10 and ~he inner
wall 17 of the opening through the wall 18.
`. If desired, a circular annular flange 40 may be provided on the outer
~ surface near the ports of the gaseous burner tube.
`i Situated a selected distance back from the primary burner ports of
the burner tubes--that is, upstream of the fuel jets 18 and 34, is a secondary
. burner indicated generally by the numeral 49, This can be cons~ructed in a
number of ways. However, one embodiment is shown in the Figures. This
- 30 comprises an annular plate 48, which is of larger inner diameter than the
~ube 26 of ~he gaseous fuel burner. There is an outer cylindrical flange 50,
of relavitely short length, attached to the circumference of the annular plate
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48. The plat~ 4B ;s prefer~bly perpendictllar to the axis of the burner sys-
tem. This plate can be sup~orted by the! radial rîbs 40 as illustrated in
Pigures 1 and 2.
A limi~ed supply of gaseous ~lel is supplied hy a pipe 44 parallel
to the burner system, which pipe passes through a small opening 34 in the
plate 48. This pipe is supplied with gaseous fuel from any sourceJ such as
pipe 45, shown in dashed line, or it can be taken from the space 64 of the
gas burner tubes by means of the radial pipe 42.
The induced airflow indicated by arrows 72 also includes a flow
- 10 indicated by arrows 70, which flows in along the outer surface of the gaseous
burner tube and inside of the opening 52 in the secondary burner. It also
includes a flow in the annulus 74 between the liquid and gaseous fuel.
Referring now to Figure 4, there is shown an opening 56 in the side
wall of the tube 44, just short of the end closure 57, so that gas flowing
in accordance with arrow 68 in the tube 44 will flow tangentially as arrows
- 62 in Figure 2.
Referrin~ now to Figure 2, it is seen that the jet of gas 60 flowing
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-~ out of the opening 56 will flow in a circular pattern in accordance with
arrows 62 in the lee of the annular plate 4B inside of the outer tubular
flange portion 50. Combustion air is flowing through the opening 52 between
the ou~er tube 26 of the gaseous burner tube and the inner edge of the plate
48 so that, in a quiet way, air d~ffuses into the gas and forms a quiet flame,
` which is s~able, forming products of combustion including carbon dioxide and
;~ water. The airflow 70, 72 carries these combustion products with it, into
- the combustion zone downstream of the jets of fuel 18 and 34. Thus, in the
combustion zone 76, the formation of carbon monoxide and hydrogen will serve
- to reduce the NOx that may be present, to a selected minimum.
-` lVhat has been described is a combina~ion liquid ~nd gaseous fuel
;! burner, which can be utilized with one or both of the fuels. The basic
~j 30 improvement lies in the use of a secondary burner which surrounds the primary
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burner system and is upstream of the primary burner so that a supply of gas-
eous fuel to the secondary burner will provide combustion products of carbon
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dioxide and water, which, flowing with the air into the combustion zone 76
of the primary burner will serve to redu.ce the NOx present.
The ~uantity of gaseous fuel burned in the burner 49 is a small
part of the total fuel and may be of the order of 10% to 25%, with an optimum
value in the range of 10% to 15% dependi.ng on the type of fuel used, etc. s
~: It is clear also that the heat of combustion of thc gas in thesecondary burner 49 is carried by the pIoducts of combustion and the air supply
70 and 72 into the main combustion zone 76 and, therefore, is completely
utili3ed in the operation of the furnace.
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